Two Hearts
by Kurmoi
Summary: He's supposed to be invincible. He's not supposed to die. But he does... in her arms. All for the sake of power, he ran... ran to protect the one that he loved... or did he?
1. Don't worry, Kasumi

*

He couldn't think straight. The blood loss was slowly dominating him. And if that didn't, then the poison seeping slowly and surely into his blood stream would soon do the job.

Yet he had to keep on running. _I would rather die then let myself fall into their hands once more. This, by the looks of things, is what is going to happen._

However, the weather conditions made it difficult, especially in his current state. The rain was only succeeding in making his footing even more unstable then it already was as he ran, leaving a telltale path of crimson in his wake. Even the rain was doing little to staunch it, betraying his footing but leaving his trail betrayed. 

A sudden chill racked his frame as he continued running, a breeze coming from somewhere… he slowed, clutching his side where the poisoned arrow was still imbedded, too far in his flesh to be removed without proper equipment that he didn't have. He blinked, stepping backwards with difficulty as a breeze of sakura blossoms appeared, swirling.

"Kasumi?" he managed to stammer, maintaining his balance only with the aid of a tree. Amber eyes widened as they lay on him.

"What… what's happening?" she stuttered. "How…?"

He slumped to the ground, hand still over the wound. "Kasumi, I can't run any longer. Beware, the DOATEC are only becoming more ruthless in their goal to gain more power. Don't let yourself become a statistic,"

"But-" she started. He shook his head as his vision blurred.

"Be careful, Kasumi,"

As the blackness slowly closed in around him, he realized that he had forgotten to tell her something extremely important. Something that could cost her a great deal, at worst her life.

_Hopefully… hopefully she finds out from him… hopefully he can free himself and find her…_

The last thing he felt was her gentle hands on his face, before even that gave way to black.

*

"No," her whisper was instantly carried away by the wind as she stared at the motionless body of her fallen comrade. Friend, distantly. Guardian…

"NO!" she screamed, startling the birds in the trees, causing them to take flight. "NO! IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN THIS WAY!"

Yet, it had. As proved by the motionless body now lying in her arms. She felt something warm and sticky seep onto her leg and looked down. Blood, already starting to turn darker. Or it just could have been the light. Blood, tinged with…

She bent down closer to examine the wound. An arrow, imbedded in his side, deep enough for him to have not been able to remove it. Green liquid surrounded the entrance hole of the wound. Telltale poison. He had been hunted down, assassinated. Murdered, in cold blood.

"You… you fool…" she whispered. "You're supposed to be invincible. You're not supposed to die. Not you, Hayabusa-san. Not you,"

Yet words could do nothing. Words could do nothing to bring him back.

"Who did this to you?" she angrily swiped at her eyes as her vision blurred with tears. "Who could kill you? Hayate? Someone else that we don't know about?"

She screamed then. Balling her hand into a fist and slamming it into the soft ground. Hitting a stick, which dug into her skin, breaking the flesh. She glared at the blood angrily, smearing it carelessly on the bottom of her top. "Whoever did this to you will pay with their life!" she declared to the forest. "I will personally hunt you down and kill you! Every single one!"

As tears blinded her vision, she could almost hear his soft, gentle voice echo in her head once more.

_Don't worry… Kasumi. _

*


	2. Mark my Words

*Cough* Hello. About this story… it is my first story thus far where the formatting is _not _fixed, allowing you to have input as to where it goes, pairings if any, etcetera. 

Oh, and… I wouldn't make Ryu die so easily! Who do you think I am? Onward!

*

Gods, he looked so peaceful. She had never seen him look so calm, so… _human._

Even still, she let tears splash down her cheeks. She cared for him, even if they didn't always get along well. "You know, we might have been on bad terms sometimes, but I never wanted you dead," she whispered, cradling his motionless body, stroking his hair.

A lump was forming in her throat. Suddenly, she heard bracken breaking and snapped around to face a somewhat familiar face.

"Bayman. What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed, angrily brushing away the tears on her cheeks, standing up.

"What's it to you?" his voice was still as brusque as she remembered it. "Crying over your boyfriend?" he asked, gesturing to the body on the ground.

"Did you do it?" she reached behind her, for her katana. "It was you, wasn't it?"

He shrugged casually. "Donovan wanted him. I wanted to make Donovan suffer. He could not get what he wanted once in a while,"

"So you killed him," Insatiable rage was beginning to consume her senses. "Just because you wanted to settle a grudge,"

"Pretty much,"

"That's not good enough!" she screeched into the forest, lunging blindly at him with her katana in hand. He easily dodged, grabbing her and putting her into a tight head-lock.

"You're not good enough to beat me, little girl,"

"I'm a kunoichi," she struggled to pull away, and couldn't. "And I never say never. Mores to the point, I am more then skilled enough to defeat you,"

The assassin had made one foolish error: Forget about her right hand, which just so happened to be holding the katana.

She grinned savagely as she stabbed it into his arm. He immediately pulled away, loosening his grip around her neck. He glared at her, nursing his arm.

"I'll be back for you, little kunoichi. Mark my words,"

"Mark this,"

She grabbed a sharp stick lying on the ground and threw it blindly at the assassin, spearing his arm. "Mark _my _words; I'll be avenging his death. Painfully,"

She watched him run off into the forest before turning back to the prone body lying so peacefully on the leaves.

"Trust you to even die so close to nature," the adrenaline rush gave way to the consuming sadness once more. "Now I see. Funny how death does that. Makes you see things. You really were just trying to protect me, even if it was in your own eccentric way,"

Gods, he looked so… beautiful. Hair framing his face. Excluding wound, he looked like he was asleep. _Damn. Thinking a corpse is beautiful… gods, how could anyone do this just for something so stupid? Why are men always so stubborn when it comes to maintaining their pride? Every single man I've met… pride just drives them._

"Hayabusa-san, I will avenge your death," she whispered, before bending down and lightly kissing his cool cheek. "Mark my words,"

With that, she disappeared in a breeze of sakura petals, with a new cause to life.

*

He winced as yet another needle stabbed into his arm. "Is this really necessary?" he managed to get out before he was silenced abruptly by a hand covering his mouth briefly, before withdrawing as the owner turned to adjust some chemicals.

"Of course. Not that I expect you to understand, being the fool you are,"

He shook his head. "Donovan. I never assumed that you would go to such lengths to achieve power. Seems foolish to me,"

"You are too arrogant for your own good," Another needle came into his line of vision.

"Arrogance is better then weakness,"

"True, true," Donovan laughed dryly. "Fool or not, we certainly do agree on some things. Even though it seems like we come from two different worlds,"

"Yes. One sane, one not," he muttered under his breath.

"One more, and then we'll all be done," Donovan was sounding so _cheerful _today. It instantly made him wary. "Done for the day, that is,"

"What is the use of these, may I ask?" 

"No, you may not,"

If he hadn't have been bound, he would have drummed his fingers on the table. "Don't tell me, something else to further advance your no doubt megalomaniacal plans for gaining power. Am I correct?"

Donovan laughed; a cruel, harsh laugh that made him shudder involuntarily. "Yet again. Perhaps you really aren't as foolish as the rest of them. Although you sacrificed your own freedom for someone else's. That was foolish of you,"

"I couldn't protect her before," his voice was soft, his eyes fixated on nothing. "So it was my duty to protect her this time," With that, he made contact with the man in front of him once more. "Not that it matters. You have your lab-rat. What else do you want?"

"World power and lots more clones," Donovan grinned. "Ryu Hayabusa,"


	3. Little Sister

Please don't eat me! I know this chapter's short, but they will get longer… hopefully… so please don't eat me! *Hides behind Ryu clone she borrowed*

Anyway… you'll notice later, it mentions the 'original'. That was borrowed from Ninja Gaiden 3, the Japanese version, from memory. (Ryu has a clone in that *nod*) The original is referring to Hayabusa himself as opposed to the clones, just to make sure.

Enter Hayate! Oh, just to warn you for later, two characters are going to cark it later. Sorry, but it's inevitable for me to stick to the plan I've written. So please don't eat me! Eat chicken and chocolate instead! 

*

He blinked as new life rushed through him, opening his eyes.

Not the most welcoming of sights to greet you in your first moments of existence.

Grey walls, cold metal bars and concrete greeted him.

There was a noise of some sort behind him. He spun around, to come face to face with…

"You're me," there was an expression of confusion on the other man's face. _This is the super ninja. This is… this is me, but… how? _

Suddenly, he was swamped with memories. Emotions and memories bombarded down on him like hailstones pelting against his skin. _So, this is who I really am… _

_…this girl… who is she? And why does she move me so…?_

"Why am I locked up with you?" he asked the real one, the original. "Surely Donovan has other uses for us then keeping us locked away here?"

"There are more of you?" The original raised an eyebrow tiredly, and it was then that he saw the original was badly wounded. There was lots of what looked like wounds inflicted by beating and other types of maltreatment. _Probably Donovan's flunkies._

"Why do I think like you?" he questioned.

The original made a face. "Stop asking me questions I cannot answer," 

"Who is this… this amber-locked girl?"

The original raised his head so that emerald green eyes met and locked. 

"To which girl are you referring?"

He tried to recount the memories that had been implanted within him. "…Kasumi," he said finally. "You care for her a great deal. But I cannot determine why. Could you inform me?"

"You should know. You have the same memories, the same thoughts as I. Donovan obviously made a mistake somewhere. You should be opposing me and fighting with him, not the way you are now," The original didn't sound overly happy. 

"Would you prefer opposing me?"

The original raised a hand in amity. "No. You would easily defeat me now,"

A line of light appeared on the ground as the door slowly creaked open, revealing Donovan himself. "Right. Hayabusa, come here,"

"Which one?" the original questioned bitterly.

"You. The smart-arse one," Donovan retorted neatly. "You, stay here,"

The door banged shut, destroying the thin beam of light. He slid down the wall of the cell into a sitting position. _Hopefully my memories will come back soon…_

*

"Oh!"

The word escaped her lips as she felt something whistle through the air, just missing her head. There was a thud as the knife; it must have been, imbedded deeply into the tree just behind her. She spun around to meet her own brother's golden-brown stare.

"Kasumi. You must die,"

_Nice greeting that was. _She narrowed her eyes. "Nobody else will have to die if you step aside for this time, brother,"

"Nobody else?" Was it just her wishful thinking, or did her brother sound concerned? "Who else has died this day?"

She reached behind her, to her hair. Yes, it was still there. The tie she had accidentally picked up at the second tournament, so long ago, and forgotten to give back to him. But then again, it seemed petty, going up to the super ninja to give him a hair-tie. It had seemed petty until he was gone. 

"Hayabusa has been taken from us,"

"Ryu?" Hayate's shock showed on his face. "Who?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but my suspicions lie with Bayman. He mentioned something about wanting to get back at Donovan, and you heard how Donovan wanted to capture Hayabusa after him winning the tournaments and everything,"

"Bayman's here too? That would add up, but…" Grief was crossing her brother's face, an odd occurrence to the usual stony cold eyes that had greeted her previously. "I must avenge his death. He could not have died for nothing,"

"That's what I'm doing," she whispered into the wind, reaching behind her to feel the hair-tie still securely in her hair. "I am avenging Hayabusa-san's death. It won't be in vain,"

"You are?" Hayate turned to her, normally auburn brown hair shining a light golden. "In that case, I will join with you, Kasumi. Until we find Ryu's killer. And then our partnership is truncated. You understand, little sister?"

A lump formed in her throat. _He hasn't called me that since we were children. _

"I understand. Brother,"

*


	4. Story of the Original

A rustling in the bushes alerted him to somebody's presence immediately. From the sound of it, the person was intending to make their actions audible. Either that, or their description of stealth was ridiculous. Grasping a throwing knife in his hand, he spun and threw.

A shadowy figure stepped out, catching the knife easily, and it was then he knew.

_Déjà vu. That damn ninja… that means…_

"You were too late," Hayabusa threw back the knife, which he caught and re-holstered angrily, nearly stabbing himself in the leg as he did so. "Donovan caught the original. You just succeeded in killing one of the clones running around,"

"Well, I'll kill you too!" 

Hayabusa shook his head. "It won't make a difference if you kill me or not. You were too late. Donovan caught the original before you could kill him. And you wouldn't stand a chance in killing the original, anyway,"

He narrowed his eyes. "I've killed clones. What's the difference?"

The Hayabusa clone shrugged, a seemingly relaxed motion that Bayman would have supposed was impossible for the super ninja. "We do not have all of the original's data thus far. Donovan is working on perfecting it, but so far, we only have about fifty percent of the original's skills, but all of the memories and thoughts. Hence, we are easier to defeat then the original would be, simply because we carry the burdens of killing and bloodshed without all the required skills needed to instigate it,"

His mind drifted back to killing the last clone. He had managed it in the end, but only because of his 'playing dirty', pulling out a poisoned arrow and thrusting it into the clone's side. Fight-wise, he would have been well and truly beaten.

_If these clones only have fifty percent of the original Hayabusa's skills, then… I don't stand a chance. But I want my revenge against Donovan, no matter what._

"What is Donovan doing? Aren't you supposed to attack me for being against your master?"

Cold emerald eyes met his statement. "I have no master. Donovan, that fool, released us without knowing that we still contain all of the original's thoughts and memories. The original holds nothing but contempt and hatred for Donovan. And until that is altered, none of the clones have any reason to harm you,"

He couldn't resist a laugh out loud. "You mean that Donovan released you before checking that you would obey him?"

"He is too busy with experiments on the original,"

Stone grey met emerald green. "If Donovan ever gains control over you, clone, then tell him this. I will have my revenge on him, regardless. Either that, or die trying,"

*

"You're such a fool. I never would have thought that a cold-blooded killer such as yourself would sacrifice your freedom for the sake of a petty girl," Donovan was humming under his breath, checking some test tubes, as he remained helpless, on the bench, the tranquilizers rendering him unable to move, attack. Speaking and even breathing were nigh-on impossible, but he managed.

"Perhaps, but…" he paused to take a breath. "…But I promised… promised to save her, no matter what. And nothing will make me… make me go back on my word,"

"It was the fact that she could have been killed and nobody would have cared, isn't it?" Donovan turned to adjust some chemicals. "We ultimately wanted you. But she would have sufficed, if, for nothing else, to be good target practice. If she had been killed, then so be it, no loss. If she hadn't have been, she would have been cloned and tortured. That's what made you sacrifice your freedom for her, wasn't it?"

Every breath was hurting. "Yes, perhaps. Anything… rather then you hurt her…"

Donovan smiled cruelly. "Well, here ends that noble speech. Good night, Ryu. See you tomorrow morning. Sleep well,"

He felt the sharp pain of another injection before nothing. 


	5. Vengeance

Yes! Here's for longer chapter-ness! Hope this is a better length for you then previously. Oh, and the coupling for this has been decided, one a bit different to what I usually have… never mind. Hope you enjoy, nonetheless.

* * *

"Go on. Go out and kill anybody that opposes me,"

"I… I will,"

He turned to the hesitant looking clone, and suddenly a sickeningly horrible realization dawned on him. _I completely forgot about programming the clone's memories… so they just think like the original, and how many have been released?_

"Goddamn it!" he swore, turning to two suddenly alert guards. "Get him!"

Both guards lunged at the clone. Two seconds later, they were sprawling on the ground as jolts of electricity shot through their bodies. Donovan shielded his eyes from the blinding electricity, but there was no way for any of them to shield their ears from the deafening screams of pain.

"You cannot defeat any of us so easily. Even if you kill me, there are still more of us out there whom you so foolishly released," The clone clenched one hand into a fist, and the lightning stopped abruptly. The guards were now motionless on the ground, aside from a slight twitch every so often. Donovan glanced down at their lifeless faces. They were well and truly gone.

"Are you telling me that the original has the capacity to do that? Then why the hell didn't he do it, instead of letting us capture him? What a damn fool!" With that, he pulled out a small pistol. "Your original is a fool,"

"That he may be, but he could bring you down easily. As could I, but instead I am going to save more innocents from your deadly actions. Farewell,"

Before he had time to pull the trigger, the clone disappeared. Only swirling emerald leaves were a sign that anyone had ever been there.

"…shit,"

He turned to another still motionless clone lying on the bench. _How could I be so foolish? Now there are god knows how many Ryu Hayabusa clones running around… against me! What a complete and utter fool I am!_

Nevertheless. He had some work to do. And that, in this case, was to see what it was that drove the super ninja to do what he did.

_Well. I could try experimenting on the original. But that wouldn't be so easy. On the other hand, this clone contains all the thoughts, but isn't quite fit to be released as of now… then it's settled. No margin for another idiotic error._

Connecting the electric nodes to the temples of the motionless clone, he easily accessed the brain data and was astounded.

_Dear god. This super ninja is a complex person._

_But wait. What's this…? _

He watched the characters scroll across the screen with a growing smile on his face.

_It's that girl. That one he sacrificed himself for. How noble._

_He… what is this?_

_He… feels for her… like this? What a fool! This makes my life so much easier. Now all we have to do is capture the girl, and he will be submissive to all! Only problem is… where would I find a girl such as a kunoichi like her? The aid of the clones. Never would she expect an attack from her friend. This is brilliant._

Pulling the nodes off, the computer screen instantly went blank. He turned back to his chemical table with a smile of satisfaction on his face.

_This plan is perfect. Foolproof. Now all I have to do is net myself a girl. _

-o-

At first, she thought she was dreaming. That swirl of chestnut brown hair, surely it couldn't be. She had seen him die…

"Hayabusa!"

The ninja looked up, and with calm steps walked over to where she and Hayate were standing.

"Kasumi, Hayate. How nice to see you,"

Something felt… amiss. She couldn't quite explain it, even to herself. But she was nervous about something, and it was not the way she normally felt around Hayabusa. He felt… wrong.

Her eyes moved to Hayate's face for a brief moment, but it was enough to tell her that Hayate had picked up on something amiss as well. Her brother was agitated; he kept running a hand down the hilt of his sword.

Suddenly, she knew. Or that could have been the sword blade swooping down at her.

She ducked and rolled. The sword blade flew harmlessly over her head, cutting through the air. She pulled out her own katana, fire burning in her eyes.

"You're just a clone. Under Donovan's control. You're not the real Hayabusa,"

Hayate seemed reluctant to pull out his sword, even knowing that the Hayabusa standing in front of them was the enemy. She lashed backwards with her hand, a sharp slap on his arm.

"Brother, snap out of it unless you want to die!"

The word 'die' seemed to snap Hayate out of his reverie. Her brother pulled out his sword, just as the Hayabusa clone began laughing.

Hysterically. Insanely.

She took a step back, readying her blade.

It was unnerving.

All the years she had known Hayabusa, she had never heard him laugh before. Especially like this. Between laughing, he spoke.

"You don't understand. There are a lot more of us now, more then you can ever imagine,"

_Could that mean… Hayabusa isn't really dead?_

_No. They probably cloned him and then killed him. I saw him die. He didn't make me feel instantly wary. My instincts… I can trust them. The real Hayabusa is dead, and there is nothing I can do about that…_

_Except kill this horrible… imposter._

She and Hayate both moved at once. Simultaneously. Simultaneously, the blade of her katana sunk into the clone's chest as Hayate's blade imbedded deep within the clone's stomach.

She had thought it was a clear win. Until Hayate staggered back, clutching his arm.

The clone fell to the ground, dead. She pulled out hers and Hayate's blade.

"Brother! Are you alright?"

Hayate nodded slowly. From where she was standing, there was a sizeable slash, slowly and methodically dripping blood onto the ground, mingling with the clone's blood.

_That seemed almost too easy. Hayabusa is harder to take down then that._

"We have to get to DOATEC. Now. Will your arm be alright?"

Hayate nodded again. "I will be alright,"

She tore a strip of material off her ninja gi, wrapped it tightly around her brother's arm.

"That's the best we can do for now,"

Hayate's golden brown orbs wandered to the corpse on the ground, before he shuddered and turned away.

"This is sick,"

She nodded, not having the courage to look back at her friend's face. So similar, yet so absurdly different at the same time.

"Come on, we must go. Hayabusa, we will avenge your death,"


	6. Love, war, revenge

Finally, some action! –Falls over- It's about time… anyway, the chapter after this is quite short. Just a word of warning. Oh, and all worship Hayabusa. Uh huh. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

"Not another one!"

He pulled out a throwing knife angrily. _I was too late._

However, this clone was not as hospitable as the previous one he had encountered. _Seems Donovan is trying to make up for that mistake of earlier. _

Disposing of it, he kicked the body under a bush. They would hopefully be gone sooner or later without arousing any suspicion.

The DOATEC headquarters was in sight. Slate grey eyes narrowed as they saw a swirl of sakura blossoms.

_That girl… what's her name?_

_Kasumi._

He burst through the trees and cleared the distance easily.

"You are going to die, little girl,"

"Not while I'm here,"

A golden brown-haired ninja stepped out from the shadows, sword outstretched.

_Who's he? Oh, her brother. Ein, no. Hayate._

"Bayman,"

He started at being addressed by the girl.

"Were you not trying to stop Donovan?"

"Yes. What's it to you?"

The girl pulled out her katana from the sheath, toying with it carelessly.

"Well, you see, we are trying to avenge Hayabusa's death. However, that entails disposing of Donovan because he created the clones, hence getting Hayabusa killed in the first place, no thanks to you. So if you get in our way, technically you are helping your enemy. So could you please leave? We pose you no harm… unless you attack first,"

He shook his head, voice gruff. "I want to kill Donovan,"

A realization slowly dawned on him. "I will come with you,"

Hayate instantly shook his head. He had to step back to avoid the sudden sword thrust.

"You killed Hayabusa. We can't trust you,"

_That's what they think. Sometimes an assassin has to keep some secrets._

"I can help you. Or I can kill you. Your choice,"

Kasumi turned to her brother. "He could help us kill Donovan,"

"But he was the one that-"

Hayate was silenced abruptly by the kunoichi's hand.

"Join us. Help us find Donovan and kill him,"

He agreed, and walked further ahead. He almost missed hearing the young girl's whisper to her brother. Almost, but not quite.

"After he leads us to Donovan and Donovan is dead, we kill him, too,"

-o-

"Security breach! Security breach! Someone entered building without proper identification!"

Cold, steely grey eyes looked up, as platinum hair was tossed out of an attractive but currently frowning face. "Security breach? Who could that be?"

She picked up two guns from her desk and exited the room, looking down over the balcony, where she could see three figures. Soon enough, they were gone, before she even had a chance to shoot.

"Great. Mess up my entire afternoon, why don't you,"

Grasping onto the handrail of the balcony, she deftly flipped over it, landing on the ground floor, guns in hands. There, she could see the figures, and to her surprise, they were recognizable. Three people from the last tournament. Two ninjas and… and that assassin.

Well, he was going down.

"Christie. How nice to see you,"

Bayman's voice was bland.

"How nice to see you on your death-day," she purred.

"Now, look. We don't want to hurt you. We only want to kill Donovan," the young girl, Kasumi, said in what was supposed to be a comforting way.

"Donovan is my boss, you little idiot. There is no way you will get past me,"

Bayman pulled out a gun, but she pulled the trigger of hers before anything else could happen.


	7. One good turn

Here's the short chapter. Woo hoo!

Sagistar, Hitomi and Hayate, you think? Hmm… I've nearly written the story, actually, but… I'll see what I can do. No guarantees, though, but I'll give it a shot. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Blood exploded from the wound in the assassin's chest as his mouth opened in a silent scream. He fell to the floor in a pool of his own blood.

"You…" He was alive, but only just. He wouldn't last long.

She felt a smirk form on her lips. "All too easy,"

"Kasumi…" the assassin's voice was weak. "Make sure… you… kill him. For me…"

Bayman's head dropped to the ground, making a small splash as it made contact with the blood, staining his orange cap. It was over.

The girl, Kasumi, dropped to her knees beside the prone assassin. "Bayman. You killed Hayabusa, but… we didn't want you to die like this. Death deserves more honor, even with what you did…"

Before she could react, the girl had pounced on her. She fired, but the shot was wild.

Soon enough, there was a clattering against the ground as the guns fell from her hands.

She got into her fighting position instead; ready to kick the girl away. Kasumi flipped into the air, lashing out with her feet in the process. Even with her blocking, it still caused her to drop her block and stumble backwards for a moment too long.

Before she could ready herself properly, the girl attacked. She didn't know what had happened until suddenly, the wind was knocked out of her and she staggered, dropping onto her knees. Then, a sudden breeze, before another hand latched onto her. Dull pain in the back of her head as a sharp blow was delivered, courtesy of Hayate. She fell to the ground.

"No way," Kasumi hissed. "You're not going down that easily,"

The girl pulled her up from the ground with no difficulty, before tossing her back on the ground again, her back connecting with the floor. "You will die, monster,"

Hands pinned her down. The ninja's hands. She struggled, but couldn't get away from the iron grip holding her.

There was nothing she could do as the girl pulled out a small blade. Nothing she could do except scream.

A sharp pain in her mouth, the back of her throat, excruciating pain in her stomach and then… nothing.


	8. Word of Honour

Not really a lot to say this chapter. Oh, and the final pairings for this story have been decided. Woo hoo! Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

"Kasumi. What the hell did you do?"

She staggered back. The katana was still imbedded in Christie's mouth, protruding out the back of her neck. Blood and other fluids were dripping slowly onto her shoes from the shuriken she had plunged into the assassin's stomach. She could have sworn that there was something thicker then blood on her now.

"I… I killed her… but, oh, god…"

"Death deserves more honor then that, too," Hayate pointed to the blade. "Not to mention the shuriken gouging into the stomach like that…"

"Hayate, shut up before I kill you too!"

The words echoed in the empty corridors.

She couldn't believe what she had just done.

_Not just kill… but in such a brutal way. Like… like something Ayane would do. This has no honor whatsoever. _

"Kasumi… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. But there's something I want to tell you. I-"

She waved a hand to stop Hayate from saying whatever he was about to.

_I can't believe I did something like that. Killing is sad but necessary, but nobody, not even a murderer, deserves to die the way I just killed._

_What for? What am I turning into?_

She ran. Pulling the blade out of the previously animated assassin's mouth and throat with a sickening tug. She ran out of the building, back into the forest.

Hayate's footsteps were heavier then normal as he chased after her. Finally, she stopped, when she couldn't run any longer.

"I had to kill her. But not like that. Never like that,"

Hayate's stern voice started her back to painful reality.

"Kasumi. I don't think Ryu is dead,"

"He is dead. We should just let him rest in peace. No more blood needs to be shed,"

"Kasumi. He isn't dead. I can sense it,"

"He is!" she shouted, scaring several birds, causing them to take flight.

Hayate sighed.

"Let me try this another way. Ryu is not dead. If you believe he is, then you do not have to kill anyone else. Because I will kill you,"

Her eyes widened as her brother pulled out his sword.

"Remember, Kasumi, I am still under oath to kill you. Our partnership was only for as long as we were working together to avenge Ryu's death. However, I feel he is not dead. If you leave me here then we shall fight to the death. You understand?"

_Such a monstrous way to die. _

"But… I killed her as though she was a monster! Something less then human! Nobody deserves to die like that!"

"Do you want to die?" Hayate's voice was soft.

Silence for a moment. Even the birds stopped chirping, as though they too were waiting for an answer.

Finally, she spoke. "Hayate. I will keep on looking with you,"

"Good," Hayate holstered his sword. "I did not think you were a coward. Yes, what you did was not honorable in the slightest. But just remember. There are always worse ways to die,"

His words haunted her as they began the slow trek back up to the DOATEC building.

_He promised to help me with my training. I'd love to further my skills… and seeing as I am in Japan now; it seems a waste to not get back in contact with him…_

_But the question is… how to get in contact with an important clan leader? Do ninjas use telephones? I doubt they have email…_

She pursed her lips. _What about tying a letter to a bird's leg? They use that in all the folktales…_

_I'm being ridiculous. And I have no idea where to go to find him. I suppose that was it, then._

She stood up, paying for her food before leaving the restaurant. Two men were standing by the front, talking rather loudly.

"So many dead… I could have sworn I saw the same guy dead twice!"

"What have you been drinking?"

"Nothing, unfortunately. But there have been a few ninjas and whatnot running around here, or so I've been told. Didn't even know that ninjas still existed. Thought they were like, seventeen hundreds or something,"

"Ninjas? Are you sure you're not drunk?"

The first man looked skeptical. "You might laugh, but how many people do you know that'd run around with their faces covered and swords on their backs? Not many people do that, even for fun, you know. Nobody who wasn't a ninja would be stupid enough to,"

_Ninjas? Is this too far-fetched? Or could it be…?_

_Hayate? Is that you?_

_And who's the dead person? Sounds like clones, if they've seen the same one… either that, or the man is truly out of it. But… I really want to see him again. Even just once._

_Heck… what did a little bit of adventuring ever hurt, anyway? No harm done._

She turned and ran in the opposite direction. It seemed not even her feet knew where she was headed; however the fact remained that she was heading slowly but surely in the direction of the DOATEC headquarters.


	9. Time for Revenge

Wow. This has been a loooooong time. I've heard that the DOA fanfiction area is basically dead, it's so quiet. That's so sad… we can't let it die! Must… keep… updating…

Random information: I'm annoyed at my 'show desktop' icon. It don't work. Grr. And for some odd reason, I have over 200 emails in my yahoo inbox. Great.

Anyway, you guys enjoy the chapter, and I'll enjoy cleaning out my $#in' inbox. )

"More clones for me…"

Donovan was _singing. _Singing, as the deranged scientist put _something _around his neck. Something cold. The scientist turned to the table, pressing a button.

He flinched as the skin around his neck was punctured by what felt like tiny pins stabbing into his skin. Something to do with the metal contraption. He didn't even want to wonder what Donovan was up to.

"Perfect!" Donovan turned back to face him. "We have a sensor on you now. Go out of this building, and we can tell. Once I push this button, you will have more pain bestowed upon you then you ever imagined possible,"

He managed, with some difficulty, to get to his feet.

"Go find Christie for me," the scientist turned back to the chemical table. "I need to speak with her,"

He did so obediently but reluctantly, knowing that the repercussions would be great if he disobeyed, but wishing furtively that he could simply attack and kill the scientist and that would be it without having to fear his life if he did so.

"It's another one!"

The words startled him. He looked down to see…

"Kasumi! Hayate!"

He blinked as they both pulled out their weapons.

"Not another clone… this is sick," he heard Hayate mutter.

He shook his head, holding his hands up in amity. "No, I'm not a clone,"

"What?" Kasumi's expression was disbelief, then suspicion. The sign of a true kunoichi.

"Little sister…" Hayate's gentle voice surprised him. "This is Ryu,"

"How can you tell?" Kasumi's voice almost sounded desperate by this stage.

Hayate pointed to the contraption around his neck. "An electronic… thing. So he can't escape,"

"You remember that?" Kasumi looked slightly pale.

"Yes,"

"Are you sure?" Kasumi was still looking at him somewhat suspiciously. "Turn around,"

He did so, knowing what she was looking for.

"Sorry about this," the kunoichi apologized, before pulling on his shirt and tracing the scar he knew cut across his back.

"See? I told you it was the real thing," Hayate admonished his younger sister.

"Ryu! You're not dead!" Before he could react, slender arms flung themselves around his waist. "I saw… it must have been a clone of you, killed by Bayman. I thought it was you, and so we went to kill the maker of the clones, and Bayman joined us. We were going to kill him after he had shown us here, but… Christie killed him. And…"

As much as he tried not to, he tensed under the young girl's touch.

"You killed Christie?"

Kasumi nodded slowly, her arms dropping.

"Oh," was his intelligent response. "I was supposed to get her. Donovan wanted to speak with her for some reason,"

"Donovan's here?" Hayate sounded hopeful.

"Yes. Through that door, actually,"

Hayate turned to his sister. "Get ready, Kasumi,"

The young kunoichi nodded, petite hands clenching into fists. "Time to get our revenge,"


	10. For me

Sorry about the indecently short chapter, here. But it is an update, right? Right? –Hopeful-

Anyway, hope you enjoy. Until next update!

-o-

_What? Where am I? This is… isn't this the DOATEC building from the third tournament?_

She carefully pushed open the door. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

Her eyes instantly caught sight of a limp figure lying on the floor, an amply-sized pool of blood around it.

"Bayman?"

The assassin, from the third tournament. Or, former assassin, so to speak. He lay in a pool of his own blood, a gaping wound in his chest, eyes wide and glassy.

"Oh my god…"

Her eyes drifted to another corpse not far from the first. Again, it was a person she knew, albeit distantly. "Christie? Not you, too… who could do something like this?"

"Hitomi!"

She started, looking up where the voice had come from. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Hayate!"

The ninja deftly flipped off the balcony, landing in a crouch before walking over to her as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "What are you doing here, Hitomi? It is dangerous here,"

A glimmer of anger showed itself. "I can look after myself. I don't need you looking after me, Hayate. What are you doing here, then, if it's so dangerous here?"

"I am only concerned about your safety," Golden brown eyes pierced into her very soul as she cocked her head, looking at him pointedly.

"Very nice of you, I'm sure. What's going on?"

Hayate sighed. "Kasumi and I originally came to avenge Hayabusa's death. It turns out that Hayabusa isn't dead after all, so we're going to kill Donovan,"

"Kill him?" she was shocked. "But why?"

"It's a long story and we don't have time for it now," Hayate put his hands on her shoulders. "Hitomi, promise me that you will leave this building,"

"No!" she was indignant. "You can't tell me what you have and expect me to leave! You might need my help!"

"Hitomi, do this for me. Please,"

She stopped with Hayate's words. He was still staring intently at her, hands on her shoulders so she couldn't turn away.

"It would be just another burden for me to shoulder if you were injured or killed. I could not forgive myself if I led you to your untimely demise,"

His eyes were boring into her, so warm, so sincere.

"But… what if… you need my help…?"

"I would rather die myself then let you become involved in a battle which was not originally yours, and you get injured or killed, Hitomi. Please. You must do this. For yourself… your family and friends, those who care for you… and for me."

She stared into his eyes. He was sincere. Had to be. He bowed his head to her and began walking towards the spiraled staircase.

"Be careful, Hayate. I…"

He turned around. "What?"

"I… I…"

She couldn't say it. She had said it so many times as rehearsal, even to him when he was asleep. But she couldn't say it now. It wouldn't come out, no matter how she tried.

"I… want you to be safe."

A small half-smile graced those handsome lips, just for a moment. "I thank you, Hitomi. When we come back, I will explain everything. Until then, please leave this place."

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could he had disappeared into thin air, rich grey feathers the only sign he had ever been there.

-o-


End file.
